2 Years and Still Successfully Doing Phase 3!!!

[nancy]

Hi everyone!

I spent a lot of time on this board back when I was in Phases 1 and 2. Using the internet has been really helpful all along the way. In June '06 I made my goal. Just want to put out there that if I'm doing it YOU can do it. I had tried unsuccessfully for most of my life to control my weight until I finally did it.

I still take it one day at a time. I have fallen off the wagon-the difference now is that I get myself back on the wagon. Exercise is SO important-or else the weight comes back on. And when I exercise it's like an appetite suppressant for me. I still follow the blueprint of the SBD for my eating, and that is more routine now.

There have been challenges all along the way. Looking back, though, I realize a major challenge was in Phases 1 and 2...getting used to eating differently and eating less and learning the food program. And for me, when I finally started to exercise that was a MAJOR challenge. I did NOT want to exercise.

Oh, and with some plateaus I thought I'd never get below that number. But the body does let go of it with time.

So just remember, YOU CAN DO IT!!! As I've gotten through the challenges, one by one, it has gotten easier.

[Tiny T]

You are an inspiration to me, my friend! 2 years....wow...what an accomplishment! I am still striving to meet that first 'goal' I set for myself...I'm getting closer now. I discovered my mistake from last time I reached my goal...I forgot phase 3!...yikes....blimped right back up...but not this time...my reward for reaching my goal this time will be the phase 3 menu...I can't wait!

Keep up all the hard work you've done...and thanks for the boost of willpower you just gave me...it's nice to see someone show that this diet does 'keep off the weight' if you just follow the guidelines.

[nancy]

Originally Posted by Tiny T

I discovered my mistake from last time I reached my goal...I forgot phase 3!...yikes....blimped right back up...but not this time...

I hear ya, sister! I've done that more than once!! All that hard work for all that time, down the drain. Well, chalk those up to learning experiences and maturing as a person. FINALLY I'm correcting that mistake, one day at a time.

You're inspiring to me, the way you've hung in there, day by day. Even when there was hardly anyone else on this board, you kept sticking to it, coming back and monitoring yourself. I admire that. Shows you're really making it happen.

Keep up the good work!!! It's all worth it! :Hug2:

[RedRox]

What do you perceive as being the main differences between the latter stages of P2 and P3 Tiny T?? I've always felt they are pretty much the same thing, there's just less guilt in P3. P3 for me was more just a mental recognition that I was pretty much at a healthy weight, and then once I removed the mental aspect of being "on" all the time, I still lost another 5 lbs after that over the next 6 months while being "unrestricted". Just like the transition from P1 to P2, I've definately come to believe there is a transition from P2 to P3 as well, but it has virtually nothing to do with the foods we eat on a regular basis because those pretty much stay the same IMO. It's more about answering the question "now what" and figuring out new challenges and new goals to channel the energy we expended into reaching our "goal" into new areas. In reality, there is probably less "wiggle room" at or near goal weight than there is early on when we still have a lot of weight left to lose. It's really a catch-22. Nobody ever tells you that when you start out though! :P

[JohnC]

Congratulations Nancy! I am curious as to how much weight you lost in total and how long it took. Also, was your weight loss achieved via South Beach. Thank you in advance if you should so choose to answer.

[RedRox]

Hey John! Since we started at similar points, I thought I'd add my perspective/experience.

I started at 220-225. I currently tend to stay in the 177-183 range depending on time of year and whatever is going on in my life at any point in time. I'm 5'11". I'm still fairly muscular and "dense" for a 52 year old guy, so I'm not really going to go much below that at this point. BF% is likely in the 12%-15% range and waist is 31"-32", so not a lot of room for further improvement in those areas at this point IMO.

I started in April of '04. I got to under 185 by the Dec. holidays. I consider those my 9 months my "active weight loss phase". Visited my parents for Christmas/New Year's and added some back. Took another 6 months to get to current weight, so really over a year to get to my final weight where I have been weight stable for about 3.5 years now. Towards the end if I lost a pound in a month I considered that progress, so that is why I don't consider that period an "active" phase. It was mostly just practicing P3 at that point while my body just continued to find it's healthy weight regardless of what number my mind decided to identify as a "goal". I actually had three different "goals" on the way down, never really wanting to believe any of them might actually be achievable. I just kept surprising myself I guess!

It's the only time I ever tried to lose weight and I found the basics of the SB template for healthy eating to agree well with my needs and health issues, so yes it was the only vehicle for my weight loss as well as the template for my ongoing weight maintenance. (IMO, losing the weight might be the easier of the two, although that may just be from the perspective of the time distance of my active weight loss phase, which I vaguely remember as being stressful and difficult at the time, particularly during the inevitable plateaus!) I do vary in some places and disagree with his reliance on artificial sweeteners and his SB branded products which I think for the most part are total crap foods, but I did enough outside research to feel comfortable that the basic precepts of his program were in fact how we all should really be eating on a daily basis and it's made such a hugely positive difference in so many aspects of my life that I tend not to quibble too much with some of those details and recognize that everyone's needs and situations are different and the basic guidelines are there to be adapted based on personal needs and beliefs.

Good luck on your journey!!

And I hope nancy doesn't ming the thread hijack and does answer your question too at some point!

[french]

Originally Posted by nancy

Hi everyone!

I spent a lot of time on this board back when I was in Phases 1 and 2. Using the internet has been really helpful all along the way. In June '06 I made my goal. Just want to put out there that if I'm doing it YOU can do it. I had tried unsuccessfully for most of my life to control my weight until I finally did it.

I still take it one day at a time. I have fallen off the wagon-the difference now is that I get myself back on the wagon. Exercise is SO important-or else the weight comes back on. And when I exercise it's like an appetite suppressant for me. I still follow the blueprint of the SBD for my eating, and that is more routine now.

There have been challenges all along the way. Looking back, though, I realize a major challenge was in Phases 1 and 2...getting used to eating differently and eating less and learning the food program. And for me, when I finally started to exercise that was a MAJOR challenge. I did NOT want to exercise.

Oh, and with some plateaus I thought I'd never get below that number. But the body does let go of it with time.

So just remember, YOU CAN DO IT!!! As I've gotten through the challenges, one by one, it has gotten easier.

Hey Honey,

Just seen your post and wanted to tell you that you just Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the visit, I got your message... :Hug2::Hug2::Hug2: Hope all is well take care honey...
French..

Hi Red +T+goldie-locks........
I miss you guys:Love Doctor::Love Doctor: Just stoping by to say hello, and to see how everyone was doing.....Hope all is well... Congrats T for making your goal...I'm so proud of you!!!!!!! I will be at the finish line I hope by Feb...28lb to go.......